Photos: Thousands stranded in 20-hour commute as minor snowstorm hits Atlanta

[Politicub]

Behold the fruits of a state being managed by a republican super-majority.

And the sad thing is, the same people complaining about being caught in traffic will elect the same bunch of morons next time around. Because, freedom, or something.

We even have our own "Heck of a job" Brownie, by way of Georgia's Emergency Management Agency. He didn't activate GEMA until after 4:00, when school buses full of children were already stuck on the freeways. On the local media here are unending press conferences with the governor, mayor of Atlanta, someone called "the colonel" and GEMA director. When they're not blaming one another, they are talking about "everything they've learned" from their rarefied perches above the people.

We have been through this before -- three years ago. So it's not like it's something that's never happened to Atlanta.



Photos: Thousands stranded in 20-hour commute as minor snowstorm hits Atlanta
Commuters spent the night on the freeway

A winter storm (or, as northerners might refer to it, a “storm”) has all but shut down Atlanta, where the interstates were entirely unprepared for the two inches of snow that fell on Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Some, having left work and school last evening, are still on their way home as the commute creeps past hour 20.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who late Tuesday night declared a state of emergency, said early Wednesday that the National Guard is sending military Humvees out to Atlanta’s freeways to get food and water to people, while State Patrol troopers are checking on students who had to spend the night at school. The local police force, meanwhile, is overwhelmed...

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/29/photos_thousands_stranded_in_20_hour_commute_as_minor_snowstorm_hits_atlanta_2/

[rocktivity]

1. Spoken like a true spokesperson

…“It’s a horrible, horrible, horrible situation for people who are stuck out there,” said [GDOT spokeswoman Karlene] Barron, her eyes filling with tears. “I sit there and think about the mothers whose children are stuck in school buses… But people need to understand our folks are working as tedious as they can. This is a really hard situation for everybody.”

Not the image you want to project in these situations, no? What brings tears to my eyes is, I can't imagine what word she WAS looking for!


rocktivity

[Fumesucker]

4. Wait.. You actually expect a spokesperson to be able to speak coherently?

How quaint.

[DURHAM D]

2. I have been watching CNN coverage

and they (the media) are idiots.

jftr- I am from the part of the country that experiences snow and ice on a regular basis but have lived in the south for a few decades and witnessed first hand the bizarre notion that man can always find a way to triumph over mother nature. It is not rational.

[Politicub]

6. Indeed, the media are idiots

They go on and on with the same questions, as if the answers will change if they keep asking.

I agree that man can't triumph over nature, but just yesterday morning the state was bragging about its fancy new snowplows and strategically located sand and salt piles. A lot of good those did.

Yes, people were bound to get stuck, but some of this could have been avoided -- at least on the main freeways.

[snooper2]

3. does it not occur to people to get off the highway and take surface streets?

That ramp on the right to Fulton street looks like it's moving pretty good

[RebelOne]

10. According to our local TV channel WSBTV,

the surface streets were also congested because a lot of people got off the highway.

[jakeXT]

32. And out of gas

[Dawgs]

16. Not from Atlanta, huh? n/t

[Scootaloo]

35. In Atlanta, EVERY road is the highway

Seriously, I'm not sure people comprehend the non-euclidean horror from beyond that is Atlanta's road system.

[Thirties Child]

40. Not that easy

My niece never got on an expressway, found refuge in a church after 16 hours on surface streets. Her husband made it home after 20 hours on surface streets.

It's hard to believe that this little bit of snow could cause this much pandemonium. During Snow Jam 82, at least we had a lot of snow to go with the gridlock. Three weeks after Snow Jam 82, Birmingham got snow, and Atlanta closed down at 11 a.m. We got maybe three flakes that time.

And then there's the Ice Storm of 72. We old timers like to talk about the Big Ones.

[Ilsa]

60. And stuck because they can't get up the hill.

Everyone was released from work/school at the same time, mostly coincidentally due to lack of planning.

That being said, Georgia is not a state that spends money on its roads. Traffic is a big problem in metro Atlanta. I was in the mountains of north Georgia on vacation several years ago and was shocked by the lack of guard rails along high, elevated curves with big drop-offs.

[underpants]

5. Damn who pissed off Chris Christie in Georgia

[CatWoman]

9. *snicker*

[TroglodyteScholar]

14. Winner!

[arcane1]

7. Good lord, someone even gave birth in this mess!

ATLANTA, GA -

A baby girl was born this evening inside her parents' car on Interstate 285 during what is being called "Snow Jam 2014."

http://www.wsav.com/story/24570188/baby-born-in-atlanta-snow-jam

[redqueen]

8. "the same people complaining about being caught in traffic will elect the same bunch of morons"

Sadly, you are probably right.

They'll all blame the NWS and that'll be that.

[Politicub]

12. At the press conference, the public officials are blaming the media and their weather reports

Of course.

[mfcorey1]

29. I initially believed it until I found out that the weather service had urged

the governor beforehand to clear the roads. He refused because he did not want to spend the money. Now he is lying thru his teeth about it and passing it off to the Mayors.

[Phentex]

34. One of the weather forecasters sounded annoyed and actually said

WE TOLD THEM THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!

But you know how many times they have been wrong before.

[B2G]

46. What?

Where did you 'find that out'? Source?

[Cal Carpenter]

11. I just don't understand this logistically.

How does it get this bad? 20 hours?

I've been to Atlanta, I've travelled through it during rush hour (and learned my lesson), I am not naive to the clusterfuck that can occur in cities. But I am from the north where we get shit tons of snow some winters, and even when the roads aren't salted or plowed and several inches fall fast with whiteout conditions, I have *never* seen anything like this.

How the fuck does this happen?

[joeglow3]

13. Really is not that hard to understand

These cities don't stock up on sand and salt like we do up north. They don't buy hundreds of snow plows that would sit around doing nothing for years. The same thing would happen up north if we did not have these tools. The question is if these cities should spend millions annually for the once a decade snow storm.

[Glitterati]

17. Plus, the roads are simply not geared for snow and ice

Our roads aren't built to push the snow off the road. So, the snow sits on the road, tires go over it, then traffic stalls and while sitting in traffic, the road literally freezes under the car.

The temps dropped from the 30s during the initial traffic snarl to the teens. The roads are literally a sheet of ice.

I don't care how experienced one is, you cannot drive on ice.

[Politicub]

20. No, you can't, but you can have a plan to get people home in an orderly fashion

This is where the ball was severely dropped.

The city doesn't need to equip itself to operate as it would normally since the snow will melt in a couple of days. But it does need an evacuation plan.

[joeglow3]

21. Wow. Where do you live?

No "evacuation plan" would work here up north if we did not have the necessary equipment for the roads.

[Politicub]

24. Not a "get EVERYONE out of the city" plan

but getting the 700k or so workers out, getting the schools out in an orderly way, etc. Maybe a plan for contraflow on the freeway or something for when there's warning that a snow is coming. This didn't take anyone by surprise -- snow was in the forecast and this kind of thing happens EVERY TIME here.

It's easy to blame mother nature. But we also live in a society where we should use our brains and resources to plan for things we know are coming, and that we've experienced before. Would people still be super inconvenienced? Of course. There's not going to be a perfect plan. But our elected officials should be expected to do better.

This is different from the hurricane that hit NY and NJ. That was a once in a generation event (But with global warming, who knows?), and the city did the best it could under the circumstances.

That isn't the case here.

On edit: The people are culpable, too, for having a plan for themselves and their families. But the majority of service workers don't have the luxury of taking off work early or working from home.

[joeglow3]

63. Actually, it DID take everyone by surprise

This was not in the forecast.

[sabrina 1]

41. Did they close schools before the storm, they knew it was coming. Did

businesses allow workers to remain at home before it came? Even here in upstate NY where we get tons of snow all the time in the winter, when the weather reports warn about bad road conditions or an especially bad storm, schools and businesses close down until the roads are cleared.

I don't know if they did that, just asking.

[Politicub]

51. They didn't

At least not the schools in and closest to the city. Some of the outlying counties canceled the day before, though.

[sabrina 1]

64. Thanks. n/t

[Brainstormy]

52. the forecast

did not lead anyone to expect anything like what we got. It was a matter of rapidly dropping temps are traffic had made the roads slushy. Our problem is Atlanta is never snow, but ice, and our very hilly topography. All of it is usually gone as quickly as it came. The kids got their snow day today, and while they'll probably get another tomorrow, it will be largely unnecessary.

[Glitterati]

23. You don't understand Atlanta highways

It's really very simple - no PLAN can prevent jackknifed tractor trailers.

Atlanta's highways are built with many, many elevated ramps. Look up spaghetti junction in Atlanta for what I mean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spaghetti_junction_atlanta_georgia_i85_sb.jpg

On the very rare occasions that we get snow or ice, these elevated ramps freeze solid. There's seriously nothing more frightening than sitting behind an 18 wheeler and watching it slide all the way across that ramp, all the while thinking it's going to crash through the guardrail on the traffic below.

Once that 18 wheeler stops, it's jackknifed, stopping all further access to that ramp.

While spaghetti junction is the worst, the highways in Atlanta are threaded with these elevated egress/access ramps all the way through.

[Politicub]

27. I've lived here for 10 years. I get the highways, etc.

Everything you say is correct about the freeways. But we knew this was coming.

On my way home yesterday, I realized just how many bridges and overpasses I go across to get home. Luckily I bolted when I saw the snow start to collect on the sidewalk and missed the worst of the traffic.

So maybe there isn't a better solution. I believe there is a way to do things in a more orderly fashion before the roads get really bad, but it's easy for me to armchair quarterback.

There does come a point where it becomes too chaotic to do anything about it once the roads freeze. This is true.

[mfcorey1]

31. +1

[Phentex]

36. A plan is needed. This really was not about snow plows...

but about too many cars on the roads so that trucks could not get through.

[Capt. Obvious]

49. We learned the lesson

The government coordinates with business now and we have rolling dismissals.

They give 30 minute windows for certain sectors to release their employees.

[Politicub]

19. Here's the kicker

The city and state DID invest in more places to store salt and sand around the city as well as snow plows. The investments were made in the aftermath of the snow that shut the city down three years ago.

Reps from the state, along with the governor, were on the news yesterday morning bragging about how ready Atlanta is for the snow this time.

I understand that we'll never be on the same footing as a city that sees snow all the time. Nor should we be. But the investments were pretty useless without a solid plan to use them.

And it's not really the use (or lack there of) of the snowplows that was so inept. It's the state leadership who fumbled almost everything related to getting people home in an orderly fashion.

The real heroes of this storm are all of the people helping other people, which is the same story of the last big snowstorm. People were opening up their homes to strangers and others were walking the freeway handing out water to cars that were stuck. Stores were staying open all night so people could have a warm place to go if they couldn't get home. There are many more stories like this.

But the state's response? Not so much.

[Phentex]

37. How do you get a truck through the cars?

plow over them first? Ask them to politely move to the shoulder? There were too many vehicles on the road. Every snow plow in the US would not have made any difference.

[sabrina 1]

42. Why were there so many cars on the road when they knew the storm was coming?

Was anything shut down to keep cars off the road? Even in the NE where we get lots of snow and are generally prepared for it, when the weather reports show that the roads are going to be particularly bad, most businesses, schools, etc announce closings. That keeps the roads more clear so the ploughs can do their work. And why were so many trucks ON the road when they knew there would be bad road conditions? Did anyone tell them to stay OFF the roads until they were cleared?

[Phentex]

44. THAT my friend was the real issue...

as others have pointed out, a plan was needed and they did not have that plan in place. Schools let out at the sign of snow (they should have been closed). Workers left their offices to pick up kids or get home - ALL at the same time. There are always trucks on the interstates during any typical rush hour so they were still in the mix. So, no, nothing was done to keep people off the roads. As stated a billion times, gridlock in Atlanta can happen when there are two sporting events and a convention on a sunny day. Instead of those isolated events, EVERYONE working in and around Atlanta got into their cars. This blocked side streets and major arteries AS WELL AS highways and interstates.

THEN the temps dropped and ice formed. That's the point where slipping and sliding began and people are free to discuss that aspect of driving in an inch of snow. But BEFORE that discussion, they should be talking about the LACK of a plan.

[sabrina 1]

47. Thanks, I just wondered since I didn't see anything about closings which is very common

here. Maybe next time they will listen to the weather reports and devise a plan BEFORE it's too late. I guess they have no experience with this kind of weather so it's sort of understandable, but shouldn't happen again.

[Phentex]

48. They can't win...

they closed the schools once for two days and not a drop of precipitation hit the ground. Parents were outraged.

Forecasters first said the majority of precip would be south of us. Then the flakes started falling and panic set in. The roads were totally driavble at that point. But you can't all drive at the same time, lol.

[Politicub]

53. I think the rural counties LIKE to screw with Atlanta

Truly. So much that's wrong with our region comes from the yokels sent to the state legislature from Georgia's 159 counties.

There's a lot of good about Atlanta, and a lot of potential for a progressive approach to governance. But because we're the capital city, we get screwed by the legislature so they can build roads to nowhere all over the state.

Drives me bananas to be at the mercy of people who hate the very idea of a thriving city.

I'll join you in your

[hollysmom]

59. no, no, they don't buy snow plows around here , they put plows on garbage trucks

and recycling trucks and use them. duh. even salt trucks are used for tree branch collection after storms, etc.

You can multi use if you plan. On steeper hills in the winter we do have salt/sand on the side in a container, so you can put it on the street yourself if the truck is late coming (usually not) when you take your shovel out of the trunk.

What most people didn't think was to just stay off the roads - parents who wanted to pick up their kids rather than let them take the school bus are the greatest offenders at least around here. A couple of years ago my neighbors asked me to pick up their kids from school, so I walked over there and got them, brought gloves and scarves for them. When it snows,I just stay home (retired, haha)

edited to correct spelling

[B2G]

15. From what I've read

major arteries are being blocked by tractor trailer trucks. They can't move due to the ice/snow on the roads.



QUESTION: What’s causing the biggest impact?

ANSWER: It’s the tractor-trailers. Those, and buses. Most of the challenge is getting to traffic events where tractor-trailers have jackknifed or slid and nobody can make their way around them.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/traffic/gdot-commissioner-reflects-on-storm-response/nc6CH/

[Cal Carpenter]

18. Thank you for that info

That makes sense. What a shame for the people stuck in that mess...

[sammytko]

22. That is what happened in San Antonio last week - tractor trailer blocked a very tall overpass

There were cars and even a news camera truck stuck up there overnight. And we didn't even have as much ice as Atlanta.

But they did shut down all the schools.

[TBF]

26. I've got some friends down

there that used to live in NY - they have been helping folks dig out. No sand or salt trucks and no snow tires on vehicles. They don't know to put a bag of kitty litter in the trunk. Etc ... it is bad. One friend luckily got her kids at noon - other kids who stayed later are likely still at the schools (they had to spend the night).

If you had a cat 4-5 hurricane come through the midwest you'd see. We know what to do for those down here, preparedness guides are sent out, the evacuation zones are set, and people are bussed out from the islands if they don't have transportation.

[TBF]

39. Also ... our guy down here in Houston

has taken a stab at this. Interesting stuff. He says the governor screwed up --

The human drama here is tremendous, but for me it was insightful to watch the reaction of Georgia’s governor, Nathan Deal, attempting to deflect blame last night after the fiasco ensued.

In remarks during a late-night news conference (see video) Deal had the following to say about a severe winter event in the Atlanta metro area.

“We have been confronted with an unexpected storm that hit the metropolitan area,” he said.

He would add that on Tuesday morning, at 10 a.m., he issued an executive order to employees saying it was a “liberal leave day” as some parts of the state would see severe weather. But of Atlanta, Deal said:

“At that time it was still, in most of the forecasts, anticipated that the city of Atlanta would only have a mild dusting or a very small accumulation if any, and that the majority of the effects of the storm would be south of here. Preparations were made for those predictions.”

At 10 a.m. Deal should have been exercising his power as the state’s top official to ensure that people, from his own employees down to children in kindergarten, were heading home early. Here’s why:

Let’s start with the NAM model, the government’s best mesoscale model that is designed to specifically forecast localized weather effects. Here’s the snowfall accumulation forecast from its 12z run, which would have been available just at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday:

More here -- http://blog.chron.com/weather/2014/01/the-state-of-georgia-utterly-failed-atlanta-and-then-sought-to-blame-forecasters/

(in my view this is the top weather guy in Houston - on Monday afternoon he called it that Houston would likely not be hit as hard as others were predicting but people ignored him. He is with a newspaper rather than a TV station - but he was correct with his forecast & I'd bet some decent $$$ he's correct in this analysis as well)

[Cal Carpenter]

55. Thanks for the link

It makes more sense knowing these details.

I didn't mean to come across as having the attitude of 'oh, we're tough in the north and those southerners can't handle it' or something. I understand that there is a reason they aren't prepared with salt and plows and everything, but I had a hard time picturing why it was *this* bad - 20 hour backups, highways completely stopped for hours and hours... I really appreciate the additional info I've seen since. I probably should have read more before commenting, LOL.

[TBF]

62. I was under the impression initially

that it was just a total fluke and they got a lot more snow than expected. But Science Guy cleared that up - folks didn't look at the most recent models (just like in Houston) because they had already decided they knew what was happening.

[Ilsa]

56. This sort of weather only hits Atlanta every few years.

They only have 3-4 dozen snow plows, 3-4 dozen sand trucks. And a GOP governor that hates to spend money.

I'm surprised Rand Paul hasn't spoken up to declare that Atlantans should plow their own streets instead of relying on city and state government.

[Politicub]

57. LOL - and

Michelle Bachman would blame it all on teh gays.

[Ilsa]

61. Those liberal heathens in Atlanta! nt

[Hosnon]

25. I'm sure Florida wondered why Sandy was so destructive.

You prepare for what is likely to be a problem. What's with the regional myopia? I don't expect Miami to have earthquake foundations, California to have tornado shelters, etc. Unusual weather is a threat in itself because we all don't prepare for it.

[Travis_0004]

43. I can see that.

Up north, people are used to driving in the snow. We own a lot more snow plows than Atlanta, and the drivers have more experience with snow removal.

I keep a shovel, kitty litter (for traction) and a recovery strap in my car. It makes sense for me to prepare for snow. I won't even buy a RWD only car because they suck in the snow. I would not expect somebody it Atlanta to take the same precautions.

[Jefferson23]

28. Was the state that blindsided by the weather? Here in Ct, the state/local towns will treat the roads

well in advance. The salt/sand mixture is designed to do that, although if they don't get it down
before the temps get crazy freezing cold..the salt will be rendered pretty much useless.

[Baclava]

30. It's not about snow - it was freezing rain and ICE!

ICE!

ALL the roads are covered in a half inch of ICE!

why can't people understand?

[Brainstormy]

54. thanks for trying

but the idea is apparently too complex for most folks to comprehend. Snow is never our problem. It's, yeah, ice, and a very hilly topography.

[Baclava]

58. No hills here, but the ice storm has closed roads and bridges everywhere here on the Gulf coast

Local news is funny - all the major bridges over the bays are closed still - news reporter out there chipping at a solid 1/2 inch of ice on a bridge with a scraper to show us what ice looks like



the good news, sunshine tomorrow! back up to 70 by the weekend

[Vinca]

33. In the north we call a storm like this "Monday."

It's not rocket science. If the roads are slippery, you don't drive on them.

[Ikonoklast]

38. My Dad forwarded an e-mail my younger brother, an attorney in Atlanta, sent to him.

He's been stuck in his office for a second day, he tried to get a room downtown and there was two left in the entire city....the cheapest one was $602.00 a day.

[Thirties Child]

45. Raising prices is what I'd expect

Compare this to Buffalo and Christmas 2001 when the city got something like 72" in a couple of days. Our grandson was six months old and when they lost power they needed to get to a motel. Motels cut prices in half for residents. I've lived in Atlanta since 1963 and am not surprised at raising prices here, feel good about Buffalo and share the story whenever I get a chance.

[aikoaiko]

50. There's a lot of blame for this mess including Mayor Reed and school district leaders.